The present invention relates to air cooling equipment, dehumidifiers and auxiliary water pre-heaters, and more particularly to a room air cooler/dehumidifier and water pre-heater to be used in conjunction with a tap water supply in a hot and humid environment, such as a commercial kitchen.
In commercial kitchens, such as those found in restaurants, hospitals dorms, etc., are uncomfortable year round due to excessive heat and moisture which occur from preparing the food. In order to cool or dehumidify the kitchen with a conventional air conditioner system this results in a large expense and excessive energy consumption. Many such systems cannot be operated in the winter in that they must be drained to avoid freezing of various fluids used in the system.
My prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,195, discloses a dehumidifier for use in an industrial or commercial building in conjunction with an air conditioning system which utilizes the natural coolness of tap water to condense water vapor from the air upstream of the evaporator coils of an air conditioner.
That patent teaches to place a dehumidifying/pre-heating coil within the duct work comprising the air conditioning system. Such an arrangement generally would be useful only when the air conditioning system is operating, and will provide cooler/dryer air only in those areas serviced by the air conditioning system.